Dieneke Ferguson, the founder of Hackney non-profit and design organisation Hidden Art, has died from ovarian cancer at the age of 70.
Ferguson passed away on Monday 21 September 2020 at London's Homerton Hospital.
Described by design writer Barbara Chandler as "visionary, endlessly resourceful, energetic, powerfully persuasive and eternally optimistic", Ferguson was devoted to bringing the work of British creatives to a wider audience.
Dieneke Ferguson was the founder of Hidden Art
Hidden Art, the non-profit she co-founded in 1993, was dedicated to supporting local design in Hackney, a borough of east London.
Her passing is mourned by many designers and creatives, who are posting tributes on Chandler's Instagram.
"Dieneke had such a positive influence on my starting years as a designer," said interiors designer Nick Fraser. "She created so many opportunities for designers and makers to thrive but more than this she was kind, modest and generous." "Dieneke was pivotal in helping and believing in me at the start of my career," agreed designer Tom Raffield, who built his own house with his partner in Cornwall.
"I will never forget how selflessly she helped me (and many other emerging designers) carve out a career doing what we love."
Born in the Netherlands in 1950, Ferguson spent much of her life in the UK.
Together with David Dewing, then director of Hackney's Museum of the Home, Ferguson set up Hidden Art as a collective of...